Consider yourself lucky, Duke Nukem. Had reader Paul not submitted this list before your arrival on store shelves, you would likely be near the top of this Leaderboard: the top 5 worst video game sequels.

"It should be noted there are two types of sequel failures in my book, the sequel that is just terrible and the sequel that fails to meet expectations," Paul writes.

And here they are:

1. Final Fantasy XIII. With all things "List" related, opinions will vary, but I have yet to find someone who will say that Final Fantasy XIII wasn't a failure. Only a sequel to Atari's ET would be able to trump this: characters that no one liked or felt any empathy towards, the longest hallway ever, a mediocre and confusing plotline, level progression that felt like house chores and the dumbest computer AI ever. It's difficult to even point out things I did like, other than it had good art direction and the musical score wasn't the worst thing I've ever heard. I suppose that's something. Some game franchises I purchase sequels to, sight-unseen. Final Fantasy was one of these franchises until last year.

2. Masters of Orion III. It's hard to express how many hours I spent dominating the universe in MOO2. Precisely managing my empire, it was like Civilization in Space! I had stopped playing when I joined the Navy for a few years. When I got out in 2003, my friends and I were all excited, MOO3 was coming! We all hopped in the car, picked up our copies at the local game shop, packed up our PCs and proceeded to get our LAN party on, only to find out MOO3 was terrible. The user interface was a mess, the City Governors were so good that you had nothing to worry about except your occasional space battle. Taking over the universe was a yawn.

3. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. Really, the Mortal Kombat franchise jumped the shark after the first sequel. Some hated MK3, some hated 4 (3-D, with every character having the same Kombos!) but everyone hated MK vs. DC. MK vs. DC was like hearing that a new Aliens vs. Predator film is coming out and then discovering it's going to be PG-13. You just know it's going to be terrible. Furthermore, these universes just do not belong together. Trying to mimic the success of Marvel vs. Capcom failed miserably in this game.

4 The Bard's Tale. This game reminds me of the Final Fantasy movie, you remember the one, it didn't have a guy named Cloud or a huge sword or chocobos or really anything to do with the series? Bard's Tale was a lot like that. It had nothing in common with the original because EA still held the license. That being said, the game, like the movie, wasn't terrible, it just didn't live up to any expectations. It was also released so much later than the original Bard's Tale that overcoming the nostalgia from the original was all but impossible.

5. Gran Turismo 5. Some games you just come to accept will never be released in your lifetime: every Blizzard title, Half Life: Episode Three… and Gran Turismo 5. Shown in 2005, 2006, 2009 and last year, it was quickly joining the ranks of "never happen." However, when a game is delayed that long and is finally released, it better be the most amazing game ever (side note: I was tempted to put StarCraft 2 on this list, but I don't have that kinda courage). Finally, late 2010, they released GT5 to a massive, collective meh by everyone. Sony had spent six years developing an also-ran car game. If this game had been released in 2006, I would've had to gone back to the drawing board for my fifth title.

To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

About Mike Snider

Mike Snider began covering the video game industry during the Super Nintendo-Sega Genesis clash in 1992. An original pinball wizard, he eventually was seduced by Robotron: 2084 and Tempest. These days he is a fan of action/shooters and lives out his Keith Moon fantasies playing a mean drum kit on music games. More about Mike.

About Brett Molina

Brett Molina has been writing about video games for USA TODAY since 2005. He is well-versed in Madden NFL, the fighting genre and first-person shooters. The first video game he played was Asteroids at a local arcade. He has been hooked ever since. More about Brett.